Barlow takes back seat to set leadership for future
Freshman setter serves team with winning attitude

When head coach Sandy Troudt tells freshman setter/defensive specialist Tori Barlow to “be Tori,” she’s simply reminding the best freshman recruit in the history of TCU volleyball to be confident of her own capacity.

To own up to Troudt’s claim, Barlow must dig inside her head and play volleyball the way she has been playing throughout her whole career. Barlow said she knows she has an intense competitive nature and said she wants the rest of the team to be familiar with that intensity.

Barlow said she wants to bring this out, regardless of any of her new surroundings. Her role this season has been the back-up setter behind starting junior setter Lindsay Hayes.

“I want (to be the starting setter),” Barlow said. “But Lindsay is not going to just let me take it from her.”
Barlow said she’s been accustomed to being the leader throughout her volleyball career, and it has been difficult for her make the adjustment this season.

“I was always the starting setter (in high school),” Barlow said. “Not getting the starting job this season has challenged me to a new level.”

The challenge is a welcomed one, Barlow said. She also said the benefits to it have made her become a stronger player and person.

Being an all-around solid contributor has been a result of the hard work Barlow has put into the team this season.

Barlow has played a defensive role during matches, and setting role during practice time. Troudt said Barlow’s versatility is an example of her all-around talent and her desire to help the team win at any cost.

“Tori did a wonderful job for us in her transition from the starting quarterback position to the defense team,” Troudt said.

Although Barlow has done what her head coach has asked of her, Troudt said she’s anxious to see Barlow let herself loose and be the player that Troudt knows she can be.

“The times when she’s not playing in a game, I can see on her face that she’s really bothered by it,” Troudt said. “That’s what I want to see. I want to see the intensity inside her come out, and then that leader inside her will emerge with it.”

Barlow said she has grown to appreciate what she has learned during the time she spends not playing during competitions.

At this point in the season, Barlow said all she has learned resulted in a growth in herself. She said this growth process is more important to give focus to, than solely focusing on her goal at becoming the starting setter.

When the time comes that the only mention of Hayes is in the TCU record books, that will be the time when Barlow takes over this role and becomes the Volley Frogs’ number one setter, Troudt said.

Troudt said she hopes Barlow doesn’t get too accustomed at playing the waiting game and begin to feel she won’t be capable to take the primary leader role for the team. The waiting this season has allowed Barlow to expand her patience level.

“I never sat on the bench before,” Barlow said. “It’s been a gradual process for me to come to appreciate it. I’ve learned not to be so hard on myself. (The team) makes playing fun. It’s really awesome what they’ve shown me.”

Assistant coach Chris Rudiger said she values Barlow as one of the top young assets to the team.

“Tori’s work ethic and high energy level make her a model for everyone on the team, not just among the freshmen,” Rudiger said.

Notes and quotes
This Friday and Saturday includes two re-matches between the Volley Frogs and both Hawaii and Nevada.

TCU will meet the Hawaiian Wahine at 8 p.m. Friday in Daniel-Meyer Coliseum. The Frogs will take on Nevada at 7 p.m. Saturday in the Rickel Building.

“If we could play Hawaii every week, I would do it,” Troudt said. “Playing good teams will only improve your own level of play, and that’s what we’re pursuing.”

Earlier this month the Volley Frogs traveled to both these teams in what would result in the first and second Western Athletic Conference losses of this season.

“Now that we have a little more knowledge, we can anticipate their performances better,” Rudiger said.

We’re going to need to see maximum performances from the team if we are going to make our goals.”

Some of these goals include a winning record at home, which Rudiger said is still reachable if the team’s intensity is high this weekend.

“We’re looking to recommit to our mission,” Troudt said. “We can do this by practicing everyday and giving everything we have, every minute of every day.”

The Frogs are currently an even 12-12 record and are 4-4 in the WAC. They’re currently ranked fifth among WAC teams despite their goal of ranking in the top three.

“Right now, our kids are stellar and it seems to me that they really are going after it,” Troudt said.

Colleen Casey
c.m.casey@student.tcu.edu.

By Ben Walker
Associated Press

NEW YORK — Derek Jeter and the New York Yankees wasted no time sending a message: first pitch, first inning, home run.

Jeter led off with a drive over the left-field fence and the Yankees led the rest of the way, beating the New York Mets 3-2 Wednesday night in Game 4 to move within one victory of their third straight World Series championship.

Derailed a day earlier, the Yankees got right back on track in taking a 3-1 lead in this Subway Series. Jeter homered and tripled, and Mariano Rivera finished off 4 1/3 scoreless innings by the Yankees bullpen.

A sellout crowd of 55,290 at Shea Stadium seemed much more subdued than Game 3, possibly because of a much larger presence of Yankees fans.

The ballpark figures to be a lot louder — either way — on tonight when the Yankees try to become the first team since the 1972-74 Oakland Athletics to win three titles in a row.

Andy Pettitte will start Game 5 against the Mets’ Al Leiter. Of the prior 40 teams to take a 3-1 lead in the World Series, 34 have gone on to win the championship.

Mike Piazza’s two-run homer pulled the Mets within 3-2 in the third inning, and there was no more scoring as both managers made early moves to the bullpen.

Yankees starter Denny Neagle was pulled after 4 2/3 innings, with David Cone coming in to retire Piazza on a popup to end the fifth inning.

Reliever Jeff Nelson pitched 1 1/3 innings and was credited with the win, Mike Stanton struck out the only two batters he faced and Rivera pitched two innings for his first save of the series.

Losing pitcher Bobby J. Jones was lifted after five innings. Relievers Glendon Rusch, John Franco and Armando Benitez kept the Yankees from breaking away.

The Yankees scored single runs in each of the first three innings. They did it without a contribution from cleanup man Bernie Williams, who was hitless in four at-bats and dropped to 0-for-15 in the Series.

Playing on the 14th anniversary of one of their most famous games — the Bill Buckner-assisted comeback in Game 6 of the 1986 World Series — the Mets had no luck from the start.

Jeter stepped in and, with many fans still getting settled, launched a drive to deep left. Among those to cheer was one of his best friends, Seattle shortstop Alex Rodriguez, from the front row.

By Chris Gibson
staff reporter

For many young girls growing up in Hawaii, the rifle team at TCU may seem a little far off. But for Michelle Parker, it was a perfect fit.

A senior psychology major from Kailua, Hawaii, Michelle Parker is a three-year letter winner and the captain of this year’s TCU rifle squad.

Hillary Morgan/SKIFF STAFF Senior shooter Michelle Parker examines her gun before a practice round. Parker helped lead the rifle squad in both air rifle (366) and small bore (1,061) in TCUÕs win over Missouri-Kansas City Oct. 21.

She is the owner of individual records in both air rifle and smallbore (.22 caliber) events. Despite her success at TCU, Parker said she started shooting as a way to just become more involved.

“In high school they had a rifle team and I thought it would be fun to try it out,” she said. “My school was really competitive, so it was hard to play soccer and some of the other sports. (Rifle) gave me something to do.”

Michelle Parker came to TCU as one of the few women with previous rifle experience, and that experience, head coach Roger Ivy said, is what has helped her to excel at the collegiate level.

“In the nine years this program has been in existence, (Parker) is probably the only one who has truly had any prior training,” Ivy said. “It helps me because I don’t have to spend as much time with her and I can concentrate on some of the other girls. It usually takes a year or two to get comfortable with the gun, so her experience just puts her that much more ahead.”

While her experience in shooting has been a great advantage, coaches and teammates said leadership is her greatest asset.

“With Michelle, it’s like having another coach,” senior Dena Putnam said. “It is hard for her to show us specific things, since everybody shoots different, but every now and then I will go to her with a problem and she will help me out.

“I think the best part about Michelle is that she treats you more like a friend. She doesn’t try and coach us all the time but is there when we need her.”

Parker attributes her leadership qualities to the independence of women in the Hawaiian culture, but said she has had to learn a lot since coming to TCU.

“Things got a lot harder once I got to college in terms of competition time,” she said. “I had to learn how to discipline my time between matches, practice and school. My freshman year I really did it for fun, but now I really want to excel at it, and I have been working to do that.”

One person who has benefited from Michelle Parker’s leadership is her brother, Hunter, a freshman at TCU. Hunter Parker said his sister is a big reason he chose to come to TCU.

“She has always been like a role model to me,” he said. “She makes good grades and does well in rifle. I figured if she recommended (TCU), then it was probably a good school.”

Michelle Parker said it has been fun having her younger brother around, but she doesn’t bother him too much.
“I’m glad he is here, but we are both pretty independent,” she said. “I try to give him advice, mostly about things that happened to me when I was a freshman, but usually I leave him alone.”

As the elected team leader, Michelle Parker is responsible for many things involved with the rifle team this year. Her role may be best defined though, by her brother in one simple sentence.

“She gives me something to shoot for,” he said.

Chris Gibson
c.j.gibson@student.tcu.edu.

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